Top 10 New Zealand cricketers of all time

Shane Bond is one of the most lethal fast bowlers New Zealand have ever produced

When you think about the perennial under-achievers in world cricket, the first name that comes into your mind is New Zealand. The team has reached the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup seven times, losing six which is the most number of losses faced by any team.

The only piece of ICC silverware that has been won by New Zealand is the ICC Champions Trophy in 2000. Despite not winning any World Cups in cricket, the fact stays that New Zealand is one of the most powerful cricketing nations in the world.

Over the years, a number of brilliant cricketers have been produced by this country, many of whom have been regarded amongst the all-time greats of the sport. Let’s take a look at the greatest New Zealand cricketers of all time.

#10. Shane Bond

Had it not been for injuries, we would have seen this player much higher on this list. Shane Bond established himself as one of the most lethal fast bowlers of the early 2000s after impressing in his maiden ODI series where he took 21 wickets from 9 matches.

During the 2003 World Cup, Bond produced one of the finest spells in World Cup history by taking 6/23 in a Super Six game against Australia at Port Elizabeth. Bond missed more than two years of international cricket due to back injuries but he came back strongly with his career-best figures of 6/19 against India at Bulawayo in 2005.

Known for his pace and accuracy, Bond was someone for whom bowling at speeds of 145-150 kmph was just a routine thing. Despite his injury concerns, the pacer managed to play for the Kiwis until the 2010 World Twenty20 following which, he announced his retirement from cricket.

Shane Bond ended his Test career with 87 wickets from 18 matches at an average of 22.09 with 6/51 against Zimbabwe in 2005 being his best bowling figures. However, it is the ODI where Bond excelled more with 147 wickets from 82 matches at an impressive average of 20.88. He also played 20 T20s from which he took 25 wickets at an average of 21.72 and at an economy rate of 7. Bond is undoubtedly considered to be the greatest fast bowler from New Zealand after a certain player who we will be reading about later in this slideshow.

#9. Chris Cairns

Chris Cairns helped New Zealand lift the 2000 Champions Trophy

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The son of former New Zealand cricketer Lance Cairns, Chris Cairns showed us one of the rare occasions when the son of a noted cricketer excelled his father. Cairns made his debut for New Zealand in 1989 and soon became a regular in the team.

Cairns established himself as one of the finest all-rounders during the 1990s with his destructive middle-order batting and clever fast bowling. In 2004, he became the then highest six-hitter in Test cricket with 87 sixes before being surpassed by Adam Gilchrist.

The all-rounder helped New Zealand to many important wins but his most remembered performance with the national team will always be his century against India in the final of the 2000 Champions Trophy at Nairobi which gave New Zealand their only ICC silverware till date. Cairns retired from Tests in 2004 with 3322 runs comprising 22 fifties and 5 hundreds with 158 from 172 balls against South Africa being his highest score in Test cricket.

Cairns took 218 wickets with the ball with 13 five-wicket hauls to his name, the third most by a New Zealand bowler.

In ODIs, Cairns retired in 2006 with 4950 runs that included 26 fifties and 4 hundreds, three of them against India. With the ball, he took 201 wickets with only one five-wicket haul to his name- 5/42 against Australia in 1998.